Buenos aiera tetras survived?

[eon aquatics]

I though my buenos aires tetras died, because the heater was off.
They water evaporated to like 4 inches of water.
But they sruvived with little water, no water changes, no attention and the heater being off for like 4 months without food.
Perhaps they survived eating algae?
Eventually i saved them and put them in a 55 gallon they are still quite healthy and active.

I didn't know buenos aires tetras were that hearty.

 

[eon aquatics]

I don't really see how they survived.

 

[duanes]

Buenos Aires tetras, are not really standard "tropical", but sub tropical fish.
They come from areas in Argentina and Uruguay that actually have a winter, and even get a little snow.
The further south you go in S America, the colder it gets.
I have kept cichlids from that area and they really don't need heaters at all.
They also do best with a winter cool down.

Above is a Uruguayan cichlid, in the average temp I kept it at.

 

[eon aquatics]

How did they survive in 4 inches of water with no food for a 4 months?
There was no gravel, little algae, and no decor or hiding spots.

 

[eon aquatics]

They must be a pretty tough species.

 

[Ogertron3000]

Some fish are very tough. I once adopted a bumblebee catfish that had been kept in a metal biscuit tin on top of a heating vent and forgotten about for a month. The clown whose fish it was tried to charge me for it! It actually lived a long time once I got it in my tank.
Another mate moved into an apartment and the previous occupant had left a goldfish in a bowl in a similar state to your tetras. I told him to change the water and scrape off all the algae etc. which he did and was happy to get a new pet with his new apartment and the fish died the next day.

 

[eon aquatics]

The water was had a good amount of bacteria, aeration, and was warm.
Perhaps they were very strong because of that.

 

[duanes]

A number of tears ago, I was growing out some Uruguayan Gymnogeophagus fry in a 20 gal.
I took out a number to BAP at a MAS meeting, thought I'd got them all, and shoved the tank with about 2" of water in a corner, on the basement floor.
During Milwaukee winters, that floor get cold,s maybe as low as 50"F or below.
In spring and decided to get the tank going again, but when I picked it up noticed movement.
A few Gymnogeophagus fry that I had missed, had been in the tank all winter, with no feeding, no heat, no aeration, and no water changes in maybe a gallon or 2, and a half year later, were almost an inch.
.
Species from this part of South America (uruguay, and Argentina) can handle dramatic temp changes, and in fact, do best with seasonal cool downs.
I find without them, they are prone to fungal and bacterial infections
Below is a pic near Buenos Aires in winter (not my pic)

 

[jjohnwm]

The term "rescue" is popular with respect to fish; I wonder if it is appropriate when they are being rescued from yourself...

Been there, done similar...it's especially embarrassing when you discover the poor neglected waifs and find that they are as big and healthy as their siblings that you took care of the entire time...

My worst such case was not with fish but with hatchling California Kingsnakes; I had taken a clutch of about a dozen in individual plastic covered dishes to a local reptile show; thought I sold them all; shuffled the empty dishes into a bin and packed them away for future use. Months later, I found that one little snakeling had spent that entire time in the bottom of one the dishes...and they were nested together, so he had about a 6-inch-diameter circle with a vertical measurement of maybe 3/8-inch that whole time. Thin, very thirsty, but apparently healthy and with a good appetite; a year later he was not significantly smaller than his siblings.

Words cannot express how badly I felt about that at the time; I have since then been absolutely anal about checking and re-checking supposedly "empty" tanks and enclosures for escapees and other surprises. As far as I was concerned, that was the reptile-keeper's equivalent of a hunter accidentally discharging his firearm without actually harming anyone; I think that if that snake had died I might well have left the hobby.

 

[Toiletcar]

I keep my BA in an unheated tank that is usually around 75F. Their tolerance to cooler temps and higher ph makes them good for CA cichlids. Pretty hardy fish.
I do find it troubling that the fish were neglected and left expected to die. Not cool ?